The field data collection was conducted over a period of nine months commencing June 2013. The researcher was resident within the communities hosting the irrigation schemes over this period. The timing of the fieldwork coincided with the cropping calendars for the winter and summer crops this allowing an observation of a range of farming systems from which data was collected. The data consists of an Excel and SPSS data file of 151 household data; 12 focus group discussion notes; and interview notes from indepth and key informant interviews. This project examines the rules and norms governing access to and control over water by smallholder farmers, considering how these are influenced by externally-induced innovations and the effects of climate change. The project aims to determine if general principles of water allocation and equity can be identified, and what the scope is for transferring them across contexts. It involves comparative research in Bangladesh, Tanzania and Malawi. Key questions include: (1) What are the ‘local rules’ for governing access to water and what shapes these?; (2) What is the relationship between ‘local’ rules and ‘outside’ influences such as    government, business and NGO initiatives?; (3) How are the politics of water control changing? The Principal Investigator of the project is Dr Elizabeth Harrison in the Anthropology Department at the University of Sussex. Prof Dominic Kniveton (Geography Department) is Co-Investigator and Dr Canford Chiroro is full time postdoctoral research fellow. Research partners in the three field sites are based at Mzumbe University, Tanzania, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh and Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi.

An ethnographic approach was used to collect data. Household interviews with 151 households were conducted using a questionnaire. Households were initially stratified according to farming system and socio-economic status, and then randomly selected within those strata. Participants of the household interview were excluded from the focus groups (and vise-versa) to reduce bias and widen the coverage of the research. 12 focus group discussions guided by specific themes similar to those in the household questionnaire, plus others emerging from discussion, were conducted with different categories of community members, farmers and institutions within the field sites, such as women farmers, those in irrigation, management committees, etc. In addition, the study conducted 40 in-depth interviews with farming households in the study areas to explore further issues raised in focus groups and household interviews, as well as over 65 key informant interviews with representatives of village, district and national institutions representing agriculture, water, development and policy sectors. Additional field notes were generated from observing participants in their fields, attending meetings of water users, and transect walks in the fields and within villages.